On the Concept of Electric Taxiing for Midsize Commercial Aircraft: A Power System and Architecture Investigation

Abstract

This research introduces a high-performance electric taxiing system (ETS) as a modern solution to improve the on-ground operations of today’s aircraft, which are conventionally powered through the main engines. The presented ETS is propelled by electric motors, integrated into the main landing gear of a state-of-the-art midsize commercial aircraft, and powered by an additional not quantified electrical energy storage system. The proposed system can therefore operate autonomously from any aircraft-internal power source, i.e. Auxiliary Power Unit or equivalent. The main objective of this work is to assess the energy consumption of the introduced ETS while considering energy recuperation due to regenerative braking. The ETS powertrain is sized to match modern conventional taxi performances that were seen in 36 self-recorded takeoff- and landing taxi driving profiles. A custom ETS simulation model was developed and simulated across all available driving profiles to confirm the desired powertrain performance and to predict the system’s energy consumption. For the purpose of enhancing the validity of these energy consumption predictions, a suitable motor controller is then designed by the use of MATLAB Simulink. An easy-to-implement switch loss model was created to predict the ETS motor controller efficiency map. Finally, the former energy consumption predictions were revised for the implementation of the motor controller and an estimated traction motor efficiency map. The results exhibit that the revised ETS simulation model was capable of refining the energy consumption. It was found that the ETS will consume up to 9.89 kWh on average if the full potential of the traction motors energy recuperation capabilities are being used. The simulation outcomes further demonstrate that regenerative braking offers great potential in ETS applications since more than 14 % of required traction energy could be regenerated to yield the above mentioned average energy consumption.